Gamepad Not Detected

Symptoms:

  • “Use Controller for Aim” toggle is greyed out
  • Controller mapping is on but the game ignores PowerAim’s gamepad output
  • Gamepad settings page says “PowerAim cannot send Gamepad signals”
  • Status text on the page is red

Checklist

1. Confirm Send Mode

Gamepad sidebar → Send Command Mode dropdown.

  • ViGEm (default) — needs ViGEmBus driver
  • vJoy — needs vJoy driver
  • Internal — pure C# fallback, lower compatibility
  • XInput Hook — process-specific hook (advanced)
  • None — disabled

Start with ViGEm. The other modes are mostly for special cases.

2. Install / repair ViGEmBus

On the Gamepad page, if ViGEm isn’t detected you’ll see a “Get ViGEmBus driver” button. Click it; it opens vigembusdriver.com in your browser.

  1. Download the latest ViGEmBus_Setup_x.x.xx_x64.exe
  2. Run as administrator
  3. Reboot if prompted

Verify in PowerAim:

  1. Click any other sidebar item
  2. Click Gamepad again
  3. The status should now say “Great, PowerAim is ready to send Gamepad signals”

3. Check the live diagnostics panel

The Gamepad settings page includes an embedded Gamepad Diagnostics Panel. It shows:

  • Each physical controller slot (0–3) with its status
  • The virtual controller’s status
  • Buttons to open the Gamepad Tester / Hidden Controllers / joy.cpl

If the virtual controller row is missing, ViGEm didn’t load. If a physical controller row is missing, Windows isn’t seeing your real controller.

4. Open the Gamepad Tester

Gamepad page → Open Gamepad Tester (also accessible from the Mapping page).

The tester shows the physical and virtual controller side by side. Press a button on your physical controller — both panels should light up. Press a mapped key on your keyboard — only the virtual panel should light up.

If the virtual panel never reacts:

  • Mapping engine isn’t running. Verify Mapping Active is on (sidebar → Mapping → Active toggle)
  • The active profile has zero KB→Pad mappings. Check the profile editor.

5. Game sees my controller but inputs are wrong

The game is probably reading both your real and virtual controller. Two fixes:

  • HidHide — cloak the real controller. See Hidden Controllers.
  • Device disable — disable the real device temporarily. Also in Hidden Controllers.

6. ViGEmBus install succeeded but PowerAim still says “not ready”

Possible causes:

  • Wrong ViGEmBus version. PowerAim uses Nefarius.ViGEm.Client; very old ViGEmBus versions are incompatible. Reinstall the latest.
  • Windows blocked the kernel driver. Check Windows Settings → Update & Security → Recovery → Advanced startup → Restart → Troubleshoot → Advanced → Startup Settings → Disable driver signature enforcement. Reinstall ViGEmBus.
  • PowerAim isn’t elevated and a previous run left the bus in a bad state. Restart PowerAim as admin (title bar button).

7. “Restart as Admin” button doesn’t appear

That means PowerAim is already elevated. No action needed.

If you want PowerAim to launch elevated automatically:

  • Right-click PowerAim.exe → Properties → Compatibility → Run this program as administrator → OK

8. vJoy alternative

If ViGEm absolutely refuses to install:

  1. Gamepad page → Send Mode → vJoy
  2. Click Install vJoy — PowerAim ships the installer
  3. Reboot

vJoy is less compatible than ViGEm (some games don’t recognize it as a controller) but works as a fallback.

PowerAim is source-available under PolyForm Noncommercial. Commercial use prohibited.

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